Mastering the 1 3 5 Goal Setting Approach: With Examples and a Template

When you are faced with an onslaught of meetings, tight deadlines and the constant juggling between work and personal life, it can feel like an uphill battle to set and achieve your goals. I find that the 1 3 5 goal setting approach is the go-to strategy to break my goals down and help me to stay focused on what truly matters.

Here I will:

• explore the 1 3 5 approach to break your SMART goals into manageable tasks,
• complete with a practical example, and
• provide a downloadable PDF fillable template that you can use today

What is the 1-3-5 Goal Setting Approach?

The 1-3-5 Goal Setting Approach, also called the GPS Method (Goals, Priorities, Strategies) helps you prioritize and achieve your goals by breaking the goal into, three key priorities, and five actionable strategies for each priority. This approach keeps you focused on what's most important while providing a clear roadmap to your goal success.

When you finish the 1 3 5 Goal Setting method you should see 15 strategies as building blocks for achieving your goal.

Why the 1-3-5 Goal Setting Approach Works

Here is a compilation of feedback from my clients who have used the 1-3-5 Goal Setting Approach:

FEEDBACK	REASON
	The main reason for this feedback is that once you have defined the single goal you now have a singular focus. All your efforts are directed towards achieving that specific objective.
	The main reason for this is that you have taken a single goal and broken it down into three priorities or pillars that support this goal. By doing this it is more manageable and less overwhelming.
	When you develop the 3 priorities and the 5 strategies that support each priority you create a clear roadmap of actionable steps. These are easy to track and see your progress.
	When you have a clearly defined roadmap with achievable action steps and milestones (that come from the strategies), you see your goal progress and achievements. This boosts your motivation and accountability.

1 3 5 Goal Setting example

This is a goal-setting example that a client of mine used to achieve a better work-life balance.

Step 1: Define Your One Main Goal

First, she started by identifying a single, clear, and challenging goal. This goal needs to conform to the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). See the How to Set SMART Goals guide (with examples).

Step 2: Identify Three Priorities

In this step, she thought about the key priorities that would help her to achieve this singular goal. These three priorities are the key areas of focus that will help her to achieve her main goal.

For my client, her priorities were:

Step 3: Outline Five Strategies for Each Priority

Each of these priorities is key to her goal success. The next step was to develop five specific strategies or actions that helped her to achieve each of these priorities. These strategies should be actionable and clearly defined. Here's how you can break it down:

Priority 1: Improve Time Management

1. Identify Time Wasters: For this, she used a time log to track her daily activities and identify time-wasting habits. While she used a time log there are apps like Toggl or RescueTime that can help you to track your time usage. This time log identifies non-urgent interruptions, ineffective meetings, and constant checking of email and MS Teams as her main culprits of time wastage. She developed strategies for each of these time wasters.
2. Set Daily Priorities: Each evening before she went home, she looked over her calendar for the next day to ensure that she had the top three tasks she needed to accomplish protected in her calendar. This helped her focus on what's most important and avoid getting sidetracked by less critical tasks.
3. Increase Focus Time: In her scheduled time blocks to do her most important activities she practiced using the Pomodoro technique, where she worked in focused intervals of 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break.
4. Limit Meeting Times: Here she scheduled shorter, more efficient meetings with clear agendas. For most of her 30-minute meetings, she scheduled 20 minutes, for the 1-hour meetings she scheduled 45 minutes. These kept discussions focused and productive and gave her breathing space before the next meeting.
5. Plan Ahead: On Friday morning each week, she would use the first 30 minutes to plan the following week. This ensured she was able to prioritize the most important things in her calendar, delegate actions to others to be done the following week, and proactively renegotiate deadlines.

Priority 2: Delegate Tasks Effectively

1. Identify Delegable Tasks: Using the Eisenhower Matrix, she was able to list tasks that she could delegate to team members.
2. Assign Responsibilities: Identify and define roles and responsibilities for each team member. She ensured everyone knew what was expected of them and had the resources needed to achieve their objectives.
3. Provide Training: She developed a skills map of her team and then ensured that each team member had the necessary skills and resources. If they didn't then she provided training sessions or resources to help them succeed in their roles.
4. Set Clear Expectations: Outcomes and deadlines were communicated. Importantly, the tighter meetings meant that there were more reviews of work, and the team were encouraged to be proactive about challenges and changes to deadlines.
5. Follow-up: Regularly check in on progress and provide feedback. For this, she used MS Outlook Tasks and the 'Follow Up' category.

Priority 3: Enhance Personal Well-being

1. Schedule Breaks: Regular breaks throughout the day to recharge were implemented (mainly through the Pomodoro technique) and the breathing time between meetings (due to the shorter meeting times).
2. Exercise Regularly: She protected lunch in her calendar and ensured she went outside for a walk during her lunchtime. Her feedback was that this boosted her energy and improved your mood.
3. Practice Mindfulness: She spent a few minutes each day practicing mindfulness or meditation. Here you could consider apps like Headspace or Calm which can guide you through simple exercises.
4. Set Boundaries: She established clear boundaries between work and personal time and let her colleagues and family know. To promote this, she avoided checking work emails or taking calls outside of work hours.
5. Seek Support: Apart from me, she sought a mentor at work for guidance and support. She found that having someone to discuss challenges and successes with was incredibly beneficial.

1 3 5 Goal Setting: A Personal Example on the Free Downloadable Template

Conclusion

The 1-3-5 Goal Setting Approach is a powerful tool for breaking down your main goal into manageable priorities and actionable strategies. By doing this, I find that clients stay focused, organized, and motivated. My clients have used the 1 3 5 framework to improve work-life balance, boost productivity, and achieve personal and business goals.